A Des Moines man was arrested over the weekend after he was allegedly captured on video repeatedly punching his dog more than 20 times with a closed fist, according to Des Moines police.

Willard William Street, 32, was charged with animal neglect and two counts of failure to license a pet on Feb. 2.

Animal control officers removed the dog that was punched and two other dogs from his home. The dogs are currently being cared for by the ARL.

A concerned citizen turned the video into police, said Scott Wilson, ARL's animal welfare intervention coordinator. The dog's appear to be pitbull mixes.

"It definitely would traumatize a dog," Wilson said. "They understand they’re being punished for something, but they don’t understand what."

The ARL is lobbying legislation in the Statehouse to impose stricter penalties against people arrested for abusing animals, particularly pets.

“Iowa ranks 49th in the country for animal welfare laws, which is why we keep seeing these horrible cases of animal abuse where abusers receive sentences that don’t fit the crime,” said Tom Colvin, Executive Director for the Animal Rescue League of Iowa.